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Friday, July 20, 2012

You Were Always There, Chapter 12

Chapter 12

Ike watched as the other couples took a
moment to themselves before the men headed out for another day of logging. Preacher had one arm draped around his
missus’shoulders and was tickling his infant son with the other hand. Tim Nolan was leaning in and kissing Amy on
the forehead, both arms wrapped around her waist as she leaned toward him.

Ike sighed softly, wishing things were
the same between him and Lou. He had
renewed hopes that one day they might be, but lately it had gotten awfully hard
waiting patiently. Suddenly unable to
bear the sight of the others enjoying what he wanted but didn’t have, Ike
turned away to finish yoking up their lead pair of oxen. He’d be using them to haul logs today.

The sound of a softly cleared throat
behind him had Ike swinging back around.
Lou stood there, almost timidly, his hat held in her hands.

“Um, you forgot your… hat,” she said,
avoiding his gaze as she held out the hat.

*Thanks,* Ike signed, watching her
curiously. She wasn’t acting like her
normal, confident self. When she
suddenly took a quick step toward him, he braced himself, not sure what to
expect.

She pressed a soft kiss to his cheek,
then turned and fled back toward the fire where the kids were finishing up
breakfast.

“Have a good day,” she tossed over her
shoulder in a cheery tone.

Ike watched her go in wonderment, the
knuckles of one hand pressed to his cheek where her lips had been pressed for
such a fleeting moment. Shaking his
head, he chuckled slightly in surprised delight. Maybe he wouldn’t have to wait as long as
he’d feared.

**********

“It’s nice to see you appreciating what
you’ve got,” Mrs. Heath smiled at Lou as she began to add logs to the fire,
building it up for the washpot.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Lou
muttered, keeping her eyes on the pile of dirty laundry in front of her. She hated wash day. The activity held too many bad memories for
her. But there was no other choice. They only had so many clothes and those were
all dirty by now with the hard work they’d been doing, trying to get the garden
in and their homes up before winter hit.

“Well, this certainly explains much
about you two that has confused Mr. Heath and I, child.”

Suddenly, Lou found the entire, sordid
story pouring out. Well, most of it
anyway. Sitting down on an upturned log,
the words just kept coming until finally, she finished, “I just figure, it’s
time to move on, you know?” Touching her
stomach, she smiled wistfully, “I loved the baby’s father. But, he’s gone. I’ve… I’ve gotta move on.”

“That’s the spirit,” Mrs. Heath
encouraged. “You’ll see, love will grow
where you give it the chance to.”

“Just, take your time,” Amy added. “Don’t rush things.”

“Oh, I won’t be doing that,” Lou shook
her head fervently. “Not again. Believe me, I’ve learned my lesson. Slow and easy. If I’d listened more to the last person who
told me that, things might be very different in my life right now.” Besides, it might already be too late, she
thought to herself, thinking of how comfortable Ike and Emily had gotten with
each other.

**********

Walking amongst the piles of logs, each
stacked 10 high, Lou counted again, a small smile trying to break free the
higher the number got.

“Sixty-five, sixty-six, sixty-seven…”
she trailed off as she reached the last pile.
“Just three more logs!” Turning
back she quickly hiked back to the camp where the Amy and Mrs. Heath were
cleaning up after lunch. Upon arrival
she announced, “One more trip and they should be done!”

“Are you sure, Louise? Really sure?” Mrs. Heath nearly begged.

“Oh, I hope you’re right!” Amy added
fervently.

Lou nodded, her smile getting
broader. “The next load puts us at
seventy logs, maybe seventy-one. That’s
plenty for the four cabins we’re planning, plus a few extra, just in case.”

“Does that mean it’s time?” Jeremiah
asked, coming to stand eagerly next to his sister.

Lou ruffled his hair as she nodded.

“Yippee!” he shouted, before heading off
toward the creek. Lou laughed. After a week of gardening, Jeremiah had been
looking forward to the change of pace that would come with pulling stones from
along the creek bed for the first chimney.

Soon, all the women, Resi and Jeremiah were
wading in the cool creek water, looking for stones large enough to build a
chimney with. They were laughing and
chatting excitedly in their eagerness to get the cabins finished. None of them noticed the arrival of the men
and Emily with the last load of logs, until Carl Metcalfe called out.

“Looks like fun, can we join?”

Lou whipped around in surprise and
slipped on the slick rocks of the creek bed.
“Wah!” she shouted in surprise, her arms windmilling as she tried, and
failed, to regain her balance. Next
thing she knew, she was landing on her back.
Sitting up, she held out her arms to observe her own soaking wet
appearance.

“Are you alright, Lou?” Tim called from
the shore, obviously choking back laughter.

Letting her arms flop back to her side,
making a wet, smacking sound, she looked up at the crowd now gathered on the
shore. Smiling, she joked, “Well, looks
like I won’t have to wash these clothes this week.”

She began to struggle to her feet,
fighting not only the rushing current of the fast flowing creek waters but also
her own balance, tilted in an unaccustomed direction due to her growing belly.

“Ohh!” she gasped in surprise as she
felt Ike’s hands reaching out and helping her up. Her breath caught in her throat as his hands
slid down her arms to wrap around her back and behind her legs. Next thing she knew, he’d picked her up and
was carrying her to the shore, then on to their wagon and tent. He set her down in the tent and stepped
back.

*Are you alright?* he asked, a worried
expression twisting his features. *The
baby? That was a hard fall.*

Smiling up at him, she nodded. “I’m fine.
We’re fine.”

Now that his worry over her safety, and
the baby’s, had been allayed, Ike noticed how his shirt that Lou was wearing
had turned nearly transparent with the soaking it had taken. Since all knew she was female now, she no
longer bothered wearing bindings and her round breasts were clearly
visible. Ike could feel his body
reacting the sight before him and blushed.

Noticing the color staining his
cheekbones and Ike’s sudden, valiant attempt to not look anywhere but her eyes,
with occasional flicks downward, Lou looked down at herself. Her off-white shirt, which she’d stolen from
Ike’s trunk, was plastered to her front and completely see through. Crossing her arms over her chest defensively,
she blushed now, brighter than Ike, and laughed nervously.

“Uh, guess I’d better change,” she
muttered, turning around to start rummaging through their things.

**********

“Lou was right,” Tim Nolan said that night
around supper. “We’ve got enough logs to
start building! Although I don’t know
that I’d have chosen her method of celebrating!”

There was a general titter of laughter
around the fire as everyone relaxed, enjoying the thought that they were all
one step closer to having a snug shelter through the coming mountain winter.

“Tim,” Amy said, “why don’t you get out
your violin? I think this calls for some
music.”

“Oh, yes,” Emily added. “Let’s have a little fun.”

Soon, they were all dancing in a circle
around the campfire, laughing and singing along to the songs Tim played. When he wanted a break to dance with Amy, his
father-in-law, Isaac Brown, pulled out a mandolin and started strumming a
slower song while Carl Metcalfe accompanied him on the harmonica.

Ike watched as Lou stood on the
sidelines, slowly swaying to the soft music.
There was nothing he wanted more than to spend some time holding her in
his arms and there was something about her body language that told him she
wouldn’t push him away this time.
Walking up behind her, he gently tapped her shoulder.

Lou turned. Ike stood there, looking slightly diffident.

*Dance?* he asked simply.

Lou nodded happily, holding out her hand
to his. Soon, he was swinging her in
circles around the fire. She laughed
when they stumbled over the uneven ground and he kept her on her feet with just
the strength of his arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her a touch closer to
prevent a re-occurrence. It was a
magical moment, full of hope and dreams, unlike any she’d ever before
experienced.

The impromptu party didn’t last
long. They’d all been up since the crack
of dawn and worked hard throughout the day.
Soon, they were turning in. Ike
followed Lou as she ducked into the tent they’d erected when they set-up camp
in their valley, nearly running her over when she came to an abrupt stop. Peering over her shoulder, he saw what had
stopped her.

Jeremiah and Teresa were curled up
together on pallets at the back of the tent.
Lou had been leaving the two children between her and Ike at night,
using them as a subconscious barrier.
Now, they’d have to sleep side by side, much as they had while on the
trail with the wagon train. But, the
confining space of the tent, meant there was no room to separate their
bedrolls.

Unsure what to say, Ike waited for Lou
to make the first move. With an almost
imperceptible shrug, Lou moved forward, as if she’d never stopped, and began to
pull the blankets back in preparation for crawling into bed.

“It’s been a long day,” she said
quietly. “I’m exhausted.” Without looking his way, she said, “Night,
Ike.”

**********

Ike sighed as once again Lou moved
restlessly next to him. Her nearness was
enough to keep him ever on the alert.
Her obvious inability to rest quietly worried him. When she whimpered with her next turn, Ike
leaned up on one elbow to see what the matter was. Noticing her twisted position, he quickly
determined the weight of her growing belly was putting a strain on her
back. Reaching behind his head, he
pulled out his own pillow and gently shifted her up and slipped the pillow
under her stomach, then he nudged her upper leg forward with his leg, pushing
it onto the top of the pillow as well.

Laying back down on his side, he rested
his head on one arm and, unable to resist, reached out to wrap his other arm
around her waist, letting his hand rest on her stomach. Soon, both were fast asleep.

**********

Lou woke up feeling refreshed in a way
she hadn’t in weeks. Lately, her aching
back and hips woke her several times throughout the night and she got up
feeling as tired as when she lay down.
Not this morning.

This morning she felt rested. And that wasn’t all. There was an underlying sense of well-being,
almost happiness, she hadn’t felt since that last morning with Kid, before
everything had gone downhill on her.

Wondering at her odd mood, she started
to roll over, but froze as she became aware of the strong arm wrapped around
her, the warm body snuggled up against her back. Turning just her head, she found herself
almost nose to nose with Ike. Afraid to
wake him, she caught her breath.
Instead, she lay there quietly, watching him over her shoulder in the
pre-dawn light filtering through the white tent walls. He seemed so peaceful, so content. She could see the child he’d once been in his
sleep slackened features. He must have
been a lovely child, she thought inconsequentially.

Ike was enjoying his dream. He and Lou were wed for real, expecting their
first child. They were curled up
together in a large bed, snug under warm quilt.
A roaring fire blazed in the nearby fireplace. He could feel her breath on his face as she
leaned over to kiss him. He smiled and
tightened his arms around her, bringing her closer to him.

Suddenly, Ike’s arm tightened around Lou
as he pressed her entire body closer to his, rubbing his nose against the back
of her neck, making her shiver in appreciation.
She could feel the tension returning to his muscles as he slowly
surfaced to wakefulness. When his green
eyes opened, she smiled at him.

“Morning,” she said quietly. He stared at her for a long moment in
complete astonishment. Then, she felt
him shift again and he blushed so hard his face matched his favorite scarlet
bandanna. He started to scramble back
from her, pushing himself rapidly to his feet and turning his back on her as he
stepped toward the tent’s entrance.

“It’s alright,” she called after him,
laughter evident in her voice. “I
understand. It’s just morning. It’s not that you’re happy to see me or
anything.”

**********

“And, pull!”

Lou watched as the next level of logs
went into place, one at a time. Once
they’d gotten to the point where the men couldn’t raise the logs into place
themselves, they’d erected a jim hoist, made from one of the extra logs, in the
middle of what would soon be the McSwain kitchen and were using ropes attached
to it as a pulley to lever the timbers up and into place.

Once they’d decided they had enough logs
to start building, the entire troupe had spent several days planing the logs
into rough square shapes and cutting out notches at the ends. Now, all they had to do was lift them into
place and pound them together.

Lou stood back on the platform of the
scaffold they’d built along the inside of the wall, making sure to stay out of
the way of the swinging mallots as Tim and Ike worked in tandem to pound this
latest log into place. Looking out over
the top of the rising cabin walls, she watched as Teresa and Jeremiah
disappeared back into the forest, and smiled.
They were enjoying gathering the dirt, leaves, twigs and dried grasses
that the other women were mixing with water and shoving into the gaps between
the walls.

A nudge in her ribs had her turning back
to Ike, who was trying to move past her, to help raise the next log.

The work went quickly and by the end of
the second day, the walls were up and they’d begun putting in the roof. Lou found herself now banished to chinking
duty with the other women, using the materials being constantly ferried back by
Jeremiah and Teresa.

“Lou!”

She turned at Jeremiah’s urgently
shouted call with a raised eyebrow.

“We’ve got guests,” he said
unnecessarily. Lou had already seen the
pair of Indian hunters trailing along after Jeremiah across the field, Teresa
walking between them, her hands flashing in rapid conversation.

“Um, Ike!” Lou called up, pounding on
the wall of the cabin. “Everybody, you
might want to come on down!”

The dark-skinned young men, their long
black hair parted down the middle and bound tightly into braids that hung over
their shoulders, moved easily and quietly in their deerskin clothing,
moccasins, leggings, breechclout and tunic.
Lou could tell they weren’t part of a war party by their dress and lack
of war paint, but didn’t want to take any chances. By the time they arrived, all the members of
their little community had gathered nervously in front of the partially
completed cabin.

Ike took a deep fortifying breath as he
watched their approach. He was proud of
Lou’s quick response, but worried that she still put herself in the forefront
of their group, despite her condition.
Such a risk-taker! He hoped these
men were friendly. They looked so much
like Buck it made his heart ache to think of shooting at them, but he would do
it without thinking twice if they showed the slightest sign of intending to
harm his family.

The taller of the two men nodded at them
all then raised his hands to ask, *Which of you is Ike McSwain?*

Ike stepped forward, Lou at his
shoulder, her hand resting on the holstered pistol she’d quickly donned, the
gunbelt pulling her shirt tight over her belly.
She knew behind her the others were unobtrusively holding onto rifles of
their own.

*I am,* Ike signed. *How can we help you?*

“These are Tall Elk and Panther’s
Tracks,” Resi said, reaching out to grab the hand of each of the braves as she
introduced them. “They were out hunting
when we came across them, down by the valley entrance.”

*Is this all there are of you?* the one
she’d introduced as Tall Elk asked.

“Today’s the day,” Lou said excitedly as
she ducked out through the entrance of her tent, happily contemplating the fact
that by the end of the day they would be sleeping in their new home. She couldn’t wait.

In the early dawn light, she found
herself just standing there, watching the sun rise over the roof of their new
cabin. They’d positioned it so the door
faced south, to receive the early morning sun and collect the warm breezes of
summer, and avoid the harsh, cold northern winds of winter. It was made up of two rooms, one for sleeping
and one for living. There was a loft in
both rooms. One would provide storage
for food stuffs. Jeremiah and Teresa
would sleep in the other. An open
breezeway separated the two rooms, providing an outdoor area where cooking and
chores could be done in the heat of summer.
In winter they would put up a temporary wall to block the northern winds
in the breezeway. The roof was covered
with dozens of hand shaved wood shingles.
Each gap between the logs had been carefully chinked, the mud and grass
mixture already drying to a hard consistency that would make the cabin snug as
a bug come winter. The only thing left
to do was cut the doors and windows into the building, then close off the last
corner of the roof.

Lou didn’t quite understand her
proprietary feelings toward this small building. She’d never felt this way before. But, for the first time in her life, she
couldn’t wait to move into a new home, to start making it hers.

Ike watched Lou from where he was
checking on the stock. She was so
beautiful, her brown tresses now falling below her shoulders, slightly curling
at the ends as they waved in the early morning breeze. Her form was outlined in the rosy light cast
by the rising sun. Still wearing pants,
she’d long since had to resort to wearing his larger shirts, so the material would
cover her belly. Something about the
sight of her in his clothes made his chest tighten in proprietary wonder. She was his.
If only she would accept it. At
least she was starting to warm up to his touches, he thought, unable to resist
moving up behind her and wrapping his arounds about her.

Lou started when she felt two arms
snaking around her waist, then relaxed back into Ike’s chest as he hugged her
close. His chin came to rest on her
shoulder, his cheek next to hers. This
felt, right. She sighed in momentary
contentment.

The sound of a throat being cleared
jerked the couple from their silent reverie.
Turning, they saw the two young men from yesterday, accompanied by two
more men of about the same age and several women. Tall Elk slowly approached Lou and Ike and
asked, *Where is Friend Maker?*

“Who?” Lou asked, before remembering and
reaching up to quickly sign, *Who?*

*The little girl who found us
yesterday? We call her Friend Maker.*

*She’s doing her morning chores,* Ike
said, nodding toward where Teresa was getting ready to milk their cow. *What brings you back here so soon?*

“We came to see you put up your strange
tipi,” one of the new men said slowly, in heavily accented English. “If we are to be friends, neighbors?, we must
learn to understand each other.”

“Welcome,” Lou said, walking up and
holding out her hand in greeting. The
group of Indians looked at her strangely.
She smiled and said, “This is how we greet each other. You take my hand,” grabbing Tall Elk’s hand, she
demonstrated, “and shake it. It’s to
show you are a friend and don’t wish us harm, because you have to hold any
weapons in your off hand.”

*This is good,* Panther’s Tracks signed,
grunting in approval once Lou’s words had been translated for him, before
reaching out to shake Lou’s hand also.
Each of the visitors then insisted on shaking hands with every member of
the little community. Lou smothered her
own desire to laugh at the solemnity with which they treated what was a very
casual custom amongst the Americans.

*We bring gifts,* Tall Elks said once
the greeting ceremony was over. *Meat
for your fires and blankets.*

“Thank you,” Isaac Brown said. “We appreciate it.”

Lou walked over to where Tim and Carl
were standing and whispered, “We should offer gifts as well.”

As the two groups began to mingle, Lou
watched, happily noting as they relaxed around each other and even began to
laugh and joke with each other.

“It’ll be good to have friends amongst
the locals,” she whispered to Ike. He
nodded in agreement. “We don’t want any
trouble like we had with the Paiute back in Sweetwater,” she added, shivering
in memory.

Soon, the American men were beginning
the slow process of sawing through the thick log walls to cut out the three
doors and three windows. One front door
would be located on the south wall of the building, two other doors would open
the rooms to the breezeway. There would
be one window on each east and west facing wall of the home. Then, the men put in the last few shingles,
closing up the roof, and the McSwain cabin was done.

Lou watched the process from a distance,
impatient. She felt like the addition of
the doors and windows was waking her home up, bringing it to life. Each window looked like an eye opening onto
the world. She couldn’t wait to get
inside and get to know her new home.

As soon as the last shingle was in place
and the men came tumbling out the front door, a cheer went up. But Lou didn’t wait for the celebrations, she
was already heading straight for the front door.

“You’d better catch her, if you want to
carry her over the threshold,” Emily said to Ike, pushing him in Lou’s
direction. Blushing, he rushed to catch
up with his eager wife.

So intent was Lou on her goal, she
didn’t notice Ike walking up beside her, so she shrieked in surprise when he
suddenly swung her up into his arms.

“What do you think you’re doing?” she
demanded.

“Following tradition,” Preacher Heath
answered with a beaming smile.

“It’s your first home together,” added
Amy Nolan. “It would be bad luck to let
you walk in on your own!”

Lou shook her head and laughed. “What about the bad luck of Ike breaking his
back trying to carry me?”

Ike shook his head. Even pregnant, she still weighed next to
nothing. But, catching her teasing mood,
he deliberately faked a stumble just short of the door. Lou shrieked in mock outrage, reaching out to
wrap her arms around his neck. Ike
grinned. .Just the reaction he’d hoped for, he thought, as the move brought her
closer to him.

“Don’t you dare drop me, Ike McSwain,”
she ordered.

Ike just grinned down at her as he
twisted sideways and ducked his head to step up over the threshold and into the
cabin. Lou held on even tighter at his
unexpected movements, still laughing for all she was worth.

Stopping just inside the dimness of the
cabin, small squares of light filtering in through the windows providing the
only illumination, Ike slowly lowered Lou to the floor, letting her slide down
the front of his body, until she stood in front of him, pressed close, her arms
still wrapped around his neck.

Leaning in slowly, giving her the time
and space to move away if she wished, Ike gently pressed his lips to hers. When she didn’t pull away, he pulled her
tighter into his embrace, deepening the kiss.
Lou’s surprise at Ike’s suddenly aggressive move faded into pleasure as
she reveled in his attentions. Soon, she
was kissing him back, pressing herself closer to him in an effort to relieve
the heat building inside, the heat only he seemed to be able to quench.

Ike smiled against her lips. Not only hadn’t she pulled away, she was
actively participating in the kiss. Her
lips were sweeter than he had ever imagined.
And, oh, had he spent time imagining.
Reaching up, Ike cradled the back of her head in his hand, enjoying the
silky texture of her hair as the strands wrapped themselves around his fingers,
even as he pulled her even closer, deepening the kiss.

A sudden tumbling in her gut had both of
them pulling back, gasping slightly for breath.
Ike reached out one hand to press it wonderingly against her belly,
where the baby had kicked them both. A
broad grin spread across his face.

The Author

Who am I? A Hispanic broadcast journalist, current host of Kansas Week on KPTS, and certified high school teacher, a writer and lifelong lover of all things historical, particularly the Old West. I'm married to a wonderful man from Germany and we have a 17 yr old son. We have two rescued cats and a rescued pooch, who thinks she's a 70 lb lapdog. I'm prone to talk about anything and everything that catches my interest.